Five Things
by Rachel500
Summary: Series of Five Things fics, concerning the Stargate characters from SG1 and SGA. Updated with 4 new 5 things for Teal'c, Daniel, Jack and Sam.
1. Index

Stargate SG1 is somebody else's, probably MGM/Gekko Corp/Sci-Fi, and I freely admit that whoever's it is, I'm borrowing their show and they retain all rights, etc.

**Author's Note: **This will effectively be a place for any 'Five Things' fics I write. Each chapter will be a response to a five-things prompt on the sg1_five_things livejournal community. They will only be posted once all the five-things for a particular prompt have been revealed on the livejournal. I'm setting the status to 'complete' as I'm only going to write these as the mood strikes me, each chapter is stand alone, and therefore at any given time it can be considered a complete work.

This chapter will act as an index so if you have a particular character interest (Sam, Jack, Janet, etc). you can find those that interest you most.

**Warning:** Spoilers for all Stargate episodes/movies.

o-O-o

**Index**

**Cameron:**

Five things Cam did after 1939 - Chapter 8: Have Faith

**Cassie:**

Five Times Cassie Slipped Up About How Things Were in 'Toronto' - Chapter 2: Two Moons in Toronto

**Daniel:**

Four Kisses that weren't for real and One that was - Chapter 6: Goodbye Kisses (Daniel/Sha're)

Five men Daniel has loved - Chapter 10: Fathers & Brothers

Five times Daniel sat alone in a dark room - Chapter 22: Every Darkness Has a Light

**Jack:**

Five ways Jack is subtle - Chapter 11: Falling in Love with Carter (Sam/Jack)

Five Thunderstorms Jack remembers - Chapter 23: Clearing the Air

**Janet:**

Five of the Last Things Janet Told People the Day Before She Died - Chapter 3: Remember When I Told You

Five Ways Janet Fraiser didn't die - Chapter 17: Forks in the Battlefield

**Jennifer:**

Five Ways Keller Loses McKay to Sheppard - Chapter 19: And the Winner Is... (Jennifer/Rodney, implied Rodney/John)

**Sam:**

Five things a member of SG1 hid in Sam's luggage - Chapter 9: Baggage

Five things Sam wishes she was better at - Chapter 13: Falling in Love with Jack (Sam/Jack)

Five times Sam thought about leaving the Air Force - Chapter 24: Anchor (Sam/Jack)

**Sha're:**

Five Ways Sha're Grew Up on Earth - Chapter 4: A Check on Reality (Daniel/Sha're)

**Teal'c:**

Five secrets Teal'c took to his grave - Chapter 14: Final Curtain (multiple pairings)

Five things about Jaffa culture Teal'c will never tell his team-mates - Chapter 15: Cultural Gaps

Five people Teal'c sent Valentine's cards to - Chapter 16: A Traditional Valentine's Day

Five conversations Murray had - Chapter 21: It's All in a Name

**Team:**

Five times a member of SG1 couldn't sleep - Chapter 7: Send in the Clowns

Five Missions SG1 and SGA1 Went On Together (and how much trouble they got in) - Chapter 12: It's Not A Competition

**Teyla:**

Five Things Torren Will Remember About His Mother - Chapter 5: Through Her Child's Eyes

Five Times Teyla Teamed Up With Another Woman to Save the Day - Chapter 20: Together We Are Stronger

**Vala:**

Five Principles Vala Follows (or thinks she does) - Chapter 18: Rules (Are Made to be Broken)


	2. Two Moons in Toronto

**Author's Note:** SG1, Cassie, gen

**Two Moons in Toronto**

**Prompt 72.04: Five Times Cassie Slipped Up About How Things Were in 'Toronto'**

_**1. Two moons**_

The Art therapy class is Janet's idea and Cassie just loves it. She enjoys painting with bright colours; vibrant greens, loud reds and splashy blues. Her pictures are often of Hanka; the open fields, the small village, her mother and father, brother and sister…the world she has lost. She paints without thinking which is how two moons appear in the night sky on her canvas. Her teacher questions it and Cassie hurriedly covers by stating; 'We had two moons in Toronto.' It's only later when Sam picks her up from class and explains that the Earth only ever has one moon that Cassie understands she's slipped up anyway.

_**2. Clowns**_

Cassie's best friend Emma holds a birthday party six months after Cassie's arrival on Earth. Music fills the air; shouting children; bustling adults. It's a riot of sound and sights. It's new and exciting and Cassie loves it. When the clown arrives she's enthralled by his painted face, huge shoes and big red nose. Emma complains when Cassie follows him around and Cassie tries to explain that they didn't have clowns in Toronto. Emma doesn't believe her, calls her liar and runs away in tears. Cassie sobs on Janet's shoulder all the way home and decides she really doesn't like clowns.

_**3. Dating**_

Emma likes Matthew Keegan and Cassie's got her eye on Matt's best friend, Dominic; she thinks he's cute. Emma suggests a double date. On Hanka there was a strict code about how a couple became paired and while Cassie knows it's different on Earth, she remembers enough that she hesitates and before she can stop herself questions whether they should take a chaperone. Emma gives her the look; the one Cassie has come to interpret as meaning 'don't make this a Toronto thing.' Cassie blushes and suggests they should ask their Moms if it's OK at least. Emma nods sagely but Cassie knows she knows. She wonders whether one day she'll be able to tell Emma the truth.

_**4. Prayer for the Dead**_

Cassie doesn't cry when Sam breaks the news of her mother's death. She doesn't cry at all and wonders if it's truly the shock as Daniel assures her or whether she used up all her tears over Hanka. The day of Janet's burial, she stands proudly in the small chapel and pays tribute to her mother with a dry-eyed stoicism a Jaffa warrior would envy.

There is a prayer she remembers from her childhood and she recites it in her eulogy ignoring Sam's wince, Teal'c's raised eyebrow, and the way Jack and Daniel exchange a worried look. Margaret Fraiser, Janet's formidable mother, approaches her after and questions the origins of the unusual prayer. Cassie can't lie to Grandma Maggie, not that day. She struggles and can feel SG1 about to step forward and rescue her when Maggie wraps her arms around her and tells her it really doesn't matter; that she doesn't care where Cassie comes from, the only truth is that Cassie is a Fraiser and family. And suddenly, Cassie finds she can cry after all.

_**5. Two Moons Revisited**_

She's old and the exploits of SG1 and her mother are all but forgotten as Earth had closed its Stargate to the rest of the Universe without revealing the truth to the world some years before. Cassie doesn't understand why; only that nobody could stop it. Jack and Sam had been lost in a battle with one alien, Teal'c in another, and Daniel simply lost in another galaxy or plane of existence – she forgets which.

Cassie doesn't see the point of telling her children nor her grandchildren that she's from another world. But she enjoys telling tales from her childhood; of her friends and how they ran over open fields and gazed up at the night sky with its blanket of stars and two moons. Her grand-daughter protests strongly and reminds Cassie that there's only one moon. She sounds so like Sam. Cassie blinks hard for a moment before she smiles and murmurs softly that she'll always believe that there are two moons in Toronto.


	3. Remember When I Told You

**Author's Note:** SG1/SGA crossover, Janet, gen

**Remember When I Told You...**

**Prompt 72.05: Five of the Last Things Janet Told People The Day Before She Was Killed**

**_1. 'I love you.'_**

The words had been hastily thrown over a shoulder following a swift kiss dropped on Cassie Fraiser's head as Janet rushed to leave for work. Cassie registers Sam's tear-filled eyes and Teal'c's grave expression when she finds them waiting for her in the school corridor. She doesn't actually hear what they say; she just knows deep down what has happened and can barely breathe past the pain. She doesn't remember her mother's last words to her – not then. But when she stands at the graveside in brilliant sunshine, the words are what Cassie holds onto as General Hammond hands her the flag.

_**2. 'I needed a new challenge.'**_

Kate Heightmeyer finds Janet Fraiser's words drifting into her head as she considers whether to accept Doctor Weir's offer to join the Atlantis expedition. She and Janet had met to discuss patient care and somehow the subject had drifted to why Janet had decided to join the Stargate programme. With the shock of Janet's death still in the periphery of her mind, suddenly Kate feels like she needs a new challenge too.

**_3. 'I'm afraid I can't tell you everything; it's classified.'_**

A phrase guaranteed to make Carolyn Lam's blood boil – she'd heard it too often from her father. But there was something desperate in Janet's voice that made Carolyn reconsider her initial retort and by the end of the conversation on the mysterious disease, Carolyn found herself curious rather than angry. Her first day as SGC Head of Medicine, she finds herself repeating the same phrase to her successor at the CDC and wonders how Janet said the line with such grace when she just wants to scream the truth at the top of her lungs.

**_4. 'Once you stop being scared, you're going to be great at this.'_**

Doctor Fraiser's observation about her leaps into Jennifer Keller's head when Elizabeth breaks the news that she is Carson's successor. Jennifer had only been on staff at the SGC a month when the CMO was killed, and Jennifer mainly recalls the overwhelming sense that she wanted to be Janet Fraiser when she grew up. As Elizabeth smiles without any sign of changing her mind through Jennifer's babbling protests and incoherent concerns, Jennifer fervently wishes she'd had the guts to ask Janet how she stopped being scared.

**_5. 'I doubt anyone will remember me.'_**

Sam unexpectedly runs into Simon Wells and his five year old daughter, Janet, in her local deli one Sunday afternoon. They exchange pleasantries and make small talk – his wife is expecting again – before Wells makes excuses and leaves. The reminder of Janet, and the young girl who was named in her memory, takes Sam's breath away. She recalls a conversation with her friend the day before her death about the documentary that had been filming. Janet had been convinced that she would be no more than a footnote compared with SG1. Sam reflects that Janet was wrong; it is Janet who is, and who will always be, remembered.


	4. A Check on Reality

**Author's Note:** SG1, Sha're, Hints of Daniel/Sha're

**A Check on Reality**

**Prompt 72.03: Five ****Ways Sha're Grew Up On Earth **

**_1. The Reality Where Abydos is Earth and Earth is Abydos_**

Sha're loves exploring in the old catacombs beneath the city even though her father forbids it, or perhaps because he forbids it. She gazes wide-eyed at the drawings on the walls and the tale of their rebellion against the God Ra. It fascinates her as a child and obsesses her as a woman.

On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, she steps through the Stargate to Abydos. She wears an old pendant discovered with the mystical circle and the people think she's Hathor. She's amused to be given a young man as a husband. He has startling blue eyes and is eager to learn. They lead Abydos to freedom together and Sha're determines to leave Earth behind; she has found her place on Abydos with the husband she loves.

**_2. The Reality Where Abydos and Earth Rebelled Together_**

Her parents had migrated from Abydos to Earth before her birth. Sha're is eight when her father takes her mother's body through the Stargate for burial on their home planet.

Abydos is strange and alien; the desert sands so hot and primitive compared to the lush green countryside of England where they live. Three year old Skaara is too hot and he cries all the time; Sha're wishes she was old enough to do the same. Perhaps it's her grief; perhaps it's the differences but she doesn't like it very much and is relieved when they return home. She never travels to Abydos again.

**_3. The Reality Where Earth Never Rebelled_**

Ra really doesn't care which planet his slaves are born on. He transports them ruthlessly between Earth and Abydos as needs prevail. It's how Sha're's mother, Shareen, ends up pregnant and alone, serving as a slave in the Temple of Ra on the Giza plane, four months before Sha're is born.

Sha're is immediately adopted by all the Priestesses and as she grows up, Sha're wants nothing more than to become a Priestess herself. Her mother cautions her that as a Priestess she may be called on to share Ra's bed but Sha're thinks it will simply be wonderful to serve her God; there is no truer purpose.

**_4. The Reality Where Kasuf Escaped to Earth_**

Sha're is sixteen when her parents confess they are aliens. She doesn't believe them at first, not even when her father tells her proudly he stole a space ship from Ra. Sha're thinks her father may be going mad but she humours him right up until the moment he reveals the strange gold ship he has hidden in the barn.

She wonders if this makes her Supergirl and is terribly disappointed when they reveal they're not from Krypton but some planet called Abydos and they don't have secret super-powers. Super-powers would be cool.

**_5. The Reality Where Ernest Littlefield Discovered Abydos_**

Sha're knows she'll end up working for the Stargate programme; it's her destiny. Her father, who has been the Abydonian liaison to Earth since before her birth, still tells her the story of how Ernest Littlefield freed the Abydonians from slavery so many years before. She is caught up in the idea of the romance and adventure and can't imagine doing anything else.

She knows only the best are chosen and focuses on her education. She decides to specialise in Archaeology and Ancient History even though she knows the textbooks are all wrong. Two years in and she attends a lecture with a controversial young guest speaker who theorises that the pyramids were landing pads for aliens. It gets her attention.

She catches him when the lecture is done and invites him out for coffee. By the end of two large café lattes, she's in love with his shy smile and twinkling blue eyes, and is certain he is as much a part of her destiny as the Stargate.


	5. Through Her Child's Eyes

**Author's Note: **SGA, future, Teyla, suggestion of Teyla/Kanaan

**Through Her Child's Eyes**

**Prompt 72.02: Five Things Torren Will Remember About His Mother**

**_1. Her song_**

His first memory is little more than a fragment. He's just a baby and Teyla is carrying him in her arms. Torren can smell the floral fragrance of her lotions and oils; the undertone of musky skin that is imprinted in his mind as being his mother. The tune of the Athosian lullaby she is singing in a strong sweet voice lulls him to sleep.

**_2. Her laughter_**

He's not sure how old he is - no more than three perhaps - but he's sitting buck naked in a wooden tub by an Athosian campfire with the flickering flames drawing light and shadow on his skin, rippling the water with gold and red. Torren doesn't see her but he hears Teyla's delighted laugh as he happily splashes Rodney in the face.

**_3. Her tears_**

He's barely seven when his father dies. His father had been sick for a long time and while he hadn't understood most of the hushed whispers of the adults who'd forgotten his presence by the sickbed, Torren had understood the words 'genetic degradation' and 'nothing Jennifer or Carson can do' were not good. Teyla cries when he kisses his father goodbye; silent tears running down her cheeks, sorrow in her dark gaze and an apology on her lips that he doesn't understand.

**_4. Her strength_**

They're surprised by an ambush on a visit to a friendly trading planet; three against two. He's thirteen and handles the initial attack with an assured series of Satedan moves that Ronon has trained into him. But the warrior he faces is experienced and within moments Torren is flat on his back looking at the pointed end of a spear. His breath catches in his throat and just as Torren is sure he's going to die, his mother intercedes. Her grace and fury are something to behold; a whirling tigress protecting her cub. When the ambush party lies dead, she holds out a bloody hand, pulls him to his feet and notes dryly that perhaps in future he would be better using the Athosian moves she has taught him.

**_5. Her love_**

She's calm when at sixteen he announces he wants to leave the gilded cage of Atlantis and she understands that Athos is not for him. Torren is certain his destiny is to wear the uniform of the people who changed his mother's life, who are his family, and she lets John arrange for him to travel to Earth. He'll live with Colonel Lorne, study and train until he can return as a man.

Teyla holds him close with the Stargate shimmering beside them. She rests her forehead on his and says goodbye. He casts a nervous look toward her. She's standing tall; proud; beautiful. Her eyes are filled with love, and he silently thanks her for loving him enough that she'll let him go. As Torren takes a step forward into his future, he swears he can hear the faint melody of an old lullaby…


	6. Goodbye Kisses

**Author's Note: **SG1, Daniel/Sha're, takes place during S3 'Forever in a Day'

**Goodbye Kisses**

**Prompt 74.05: Four Kisses that weren't for real, and One that was**

_**1. A Kiss Before Dying**_

She's dead. Her body is before him on the cold mortuary table and still Daniel can't bring himself to believe it. He's searched for so long for Sha're; hoped for so long to free her from the Goa'uld...but not like this.

Never like this.

She seems strangely at peace, untouched by the violence of her death. She is free.

It doesn't comfort him.

Daniel struggles to rise from the wheelchair but he forces himself to move despite the weakness that invades his limbs. He kisses her cold lips gently, reverently.

'I'm sorry.' He whispers.

_**2. Sleeping Beauty**_

Daniel wakes for the fourth time. He's keeping count. As his eyes settle on Sha're's face, he considers the possibility that he's losing his mind. Twice he's woken to the news of her death. And twice he's woken with her beside him. Which reality is real, his mind wonders absently, as he drinks in the sight of her.

'Daniel.' His name is lit up with the exotic lilt of her accent; her dark eyes by the wide smile that graces her face. 'You are awake.'

He tests reality.

He leans forward and grasps her face between his hands as his lips descend on hers. The kiss is deep and long and, God, he hopes this is real but somehow he knows it can't be even before he jerks awake again to the sad eyes of his team-mates which tell him the truth.

_**3. Passionate Madness**_

He's mad.

He blinks the sleep out of his eyes, strokes a hand down Sha're's naked back and decides he doesn't care. He doesn't care if he's mad, if she's an illusion conjured up by his broken mind; broken heart.

Sha're shifts and leans over him. 'Daniel, I must talk to you about the boy.'

Daniel's really not interested in talking and moves with a swiftness that takes her by surprise. He captures her lips again and devours; lips roaming over hers with a hunger born of desperation. Her passion rises to meet his and there is nothing but the endless kiss and the feel of her alive in his arms.

_**4. Goodbye Again**_

It's his nature to question.

He can't be Ernest Littlefield, content to live with only a dream of the woman he loves. He wants more. He wants the reality. Needs the reality.

Something happened to him when he was tortured with the hand device. He has a number of theories. He calls General Hammond and asks to go to Abydos. The General is surprisingly agreeable even acquiescing to Daniel's plea not to inform SG1.

Daniel steps out of the Stargate and walks straight into his past. Sha're is kissing him. Her possession is long and fierce, marking him as hers. He remembers thinking at the time that Sha're was fearful she would lose her husband with the arrival of Jack and the others from Earth.

Within a heartbeat Daniel's back in his bed, waking up again with his heart pounding and wondering where reality starts and the dreams end.

_**5. A Kiss After Dying**_

Daniel crawls closer to Sha're's prone body. He's oblivious to his team-mates; his attention all on her. He touches her cheek. It's warm; her death is only moments old. For a brief moment he considers fantasising that she's alive but the experience with the hand device has left him too unnerved and unsure of reality. He has to face it. He has to face her death.

It's his worst nightmare.

He had hoped for so long and now his search for her is over. He feels the tears running down his face. She's dead; all her light and passion extinguished. But she's free and she died fighting, trusting him to save her son when he couldn't save her.

It gives him some small comfort that he clings to as he weakly shifts and presses his lips one last time to hers. The taste of her rushes through him in a swarm of memories. He lifts his head reluctantly and falls back to the ground. He can feel his vision darkening as grief and pain pull him under and he welcomes the darkness.

'I'm sorry.' He whispers and he knows she won't be there when he wakes.


	7. Send in the Clowns

**Author's Note:** SG1, Team, gen or a hint of Sam/Jack if you want to see it. OK, so there are actually seven scenes here although the prompt was for five. I couldn't resist expanding this one. The original response posted at sg1-five-things is without sections 4 and 7 to comply with the five things restriction.

**Send in the Clowns**

**Prompt 75.01: Seven Times A Member of SG1 Couldn't Sleep**

_1._

'Can't sleep?' Jack O'Neill commented as Daniel Jackson sat down beside him.

'Every time I close my eyes I keep seeing everything that happened on Chulak.' Daniel admitted. He nudged his glasses up his face and peered at Jack. 'How do you do it? Just forget about everything and go to sleep?'

Jack plucked a dot of dirt from his coffee and flicked it into the darkness. 'Clowns.'

'Clowns?' Daniel repeated, his eyebrows rising.

'Clowns.' Jack said firmly. 'I count clowns in my head.'

Daniel looked at him askance. Across the camp, a group of women appeared from the forest.

'Isn't that Captain Carter?' Daniel pointed to one of the forms.

'Yep.' Jack's eyes widened.

'Has she taken off her, uh…?'

'She has.'

'Shouldn't we, you know, stop her before she takes off something else?' Daniel asked bluntly.

Jack sighed and got to his feet. Daniel watched him head over to their team-mate with a well-hidden smile. Clowns. He guessed he'd give it a try.

_2._

Daniel looked up from his book as Sam shifted in the infirmary bed. 'Hey.'

'Hey.' Sam grimaced as her haunted eyes strayed to the clock.

'Trouble sleeping?' Daniel asked gently.

Sam shook her head. 'I keep seeing all these images from,' she hesitated and ploughed on, 'from Jolinar.'

Daniel nodded sympathetically. The past couple of days had been a nightmare with Sam possessed by a Goa'uld who had strangely saved her.

'Try counting clowns.' He suggested. 'Jack once…well, he suggested it and, I don't know why exactly, but it always works for me.' He gave a shy smile.

Sam sighed and closed her eyes. 'Thanks, Daniel.'

_3._

'Clowns?' Jonas Quinn looked at Sam suspiciously in the almost empty commissary. He'd found his team-mate there despite the insanely early hour and had decided to ask her advice on the nightmares plaguing his sleep. 'Really?'

Sam nodded and swallowed the chunk of blue Jello she'd just placed in her mouth. 'Clowns.' She shrugged. 'It works every time.'

'I thought it was supposed to be sheep?' Jonas murmured.

Sam shrugged and scraped up more Jello. 'I think the idea is to think of something so ridiculous like a clown that it counteracts any threatening images lurking in your subconscious.'

'Makes sense.' Jonas agreed. He waited a beat. 'What if you find clowns threatening?'

Sam's spoon paused mid-way to her mouth and she looked at him concerned.

'Never mind.' Jonas said hastily.

_4._

Jonas looked over at the restless Jaffa and wondered whether to risk saying anything. 'You OK, Teal'c?'

His friend didn't answer for a long moment before Teal'c finally allowed a small sigh. 'I am having some difficulty in obtaining unconsciousness.'

Usually Jonas was the one reliant on Teal'c for advice and it seemed strange to him to be in the position of offering advice.

'Try counting clowns.' Jonas said confidently.

'Clowns.' Teal'c repeated.

'Sam suggested it to me when I was having problems.' Jonas continued enthusiastically. 'The clowns replace any threatening images in your mind. I was a bit worried at first because I find clowns a bit weird you know? We don't have them on Kelowna. But they do work.'

Teal'c frowned heavily. 'I also find the idea of clowns weird, Jonas Quinn. But I will attempt to count clowns as you suggest.'

Jonas smiled and felt better. Teal'c always had the knack of making him feel less alone.

_5._

Teal'c watched Cameron Mitchell jog on the SGC treadmill and figured, given the late hour, the other man was having trouble sleeping and hoped running would tire him out. He waited until Mitchell was finished before he approached the new SG1 leader.

'After I began to take tretonin, Jonas Quinn once advised me to always count clowns in the event of being unable to sleep.' Teal'c clasped his hands behind his back.

Cam stared at him. 'Why?'

'I believe the theory is equivalent to the spell of riddikulus used by Harry Potter.' Teal'c said.

'Change the boggart into something stupid so you don't fear it anymore.' Cam got the reference immediately. 'OK but what do you do when the boggarts already look like clowns?'

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. 'Then surely they should not to be feared at all, Colonel Mitchell.'

_6._

'I don't get it.' Vala complained as she turned over in her sleeping bag for what seemed to Cam like the one hundredth time. Daniel was so sharing a tent with their newest recruit the next time they had to spend a night off-world no matter who won the coin toss, Cam thought tiredly. Or Sam: she was a woman; Vala was a woman; shouldn't they be sharing?

'What's not to get?' Cam asked impatiently. 'Think of clowns and go to sleep.'

'But why clowns?' Vala asked. 'Why not…'

'Vala.' Cam bit out. 'It's a team thing.'

'It is?' Vala considered that carefully. Cam knew she was desperate to get off probation and formally join SG1. 'OK, then.'

Cam sighed. A few minutes later, Vala let out a gentle snore. He clapped his hand over his face and tried to think of clowns.

_7._

Jack opened the door to the observation room and froze as he spotted Vala. Landry had ordered SG1 to stand down their vigil over the lab where Carter had disappeared a week before and he had thought he would be alone.

Vala opened her mouth. Jack cut her off before she could get started. 'You're not supposed to be here.' He shut the door behind him, his gaze on the empty space below.

'Really?' Vala said adopting an innocent look. 'I just thought that it was more of a suggestion than an order.' She sighed as she registered he hadn't bought her act. 'The clowns thing wasn't working.'

His eyebrows shot up. 'Clowns?'

'You know.' Vala waved at him with an imperious hand. 'Counting clowns when you can't sleep. Why everyone in SG1 does it I don't know but it usually does work.'

A vague memory popped into Jack's head; Daniel asking him on an early mission how to sleep and him randomly choosing clowns just to mess with Daniel. But then he'd gotten distracted by Carter getting naked and he'd never actually told Daniel he was just messing with him. Had Daniel taken him seriously? And they all did it? He wasn't sure whether to be horrified or delighted.

Jack gestured at the lab below. 'She's not there, you know.'

'I know.' Vala admitted quietly. 'I just feel closer to her here.'

Jack didn't say anything. He knew what she meant. He pulled up a chair and propped his feet up on the table, crossing them at the ankle. He was aware of a wide-eyed Vala following his example. Maybe he would give the clowns thing a go, Jack mused as he closed his eyes. And maybe Carter would show up naked.

He could always dream.


	8. Have Faith

**Author's Note:** SG1, Cam, gen.

**Have Faith**

**Prompt 75.04: Five Things Cam Did After 1939**

_**1. 1940**_

Cam stayed with his Grandparents for too long.

Familiarity.

Family.

He'd had neither for so long that it felt good to be amongst it again but Cam knew he couldn't stay there forever. There was the future to consider. He would step on a bug and change it irrevocably. Maybe he already had. Cam found himself in his Grandmother's kitchen weeping on her shoulder as though he was a small boy and not the middle-aged man he had become.

As he finished his story of wormholes, time travel, and his dilemma, he avoided her fierce green eyes. 'You must think I'm nuts.'

'I think you're lost.' His Grandmother corrected. 'You were sent here for a reason, Cameron, and I think when you've served His purpose, God will show you the way home.' She laid a hand over his. 'You just have to have faith.'

He set out for Europe the next day.

_**2. 1945**_

Cam had no idea how he survived the War. He'd hoped to join some Resistance movement with the view that he'd end up dead on a battlefield or blown out of the sky; just another unknown casualty. He had seen action; employing the skills he'd learned in the most technically advanced aircraft with small bi-planes and nothing more than a rear mounted machine gun.

As everyone celebrated the end of the War, Cam considered all the people who lived because he had been there including one Elena Ballard. Cam wonders if Jackson ever knew his Grandmother was a war hero.

Perhaps, he mused, his own Grandmother was right: maybe God wanted him alive and in the past for a reason.

_**3. 1959**_

Maybe it was the call of home or maybe getting lost in Europe had lost its appeal. Cam travelled back to the US, bought a Chevrolet Corvette and set out on a road trip.

He'd been in Minnesota all of two minutes when he'd seen an elderly woman standing next to a broken down truck with a child playing at her feet. He stopped and offered to help.

'I just can't thank you enough.' The woman said as Cam fixed her fan-belt.

'No problem, ma'am.' Cam responded.

'Oh, call me Eileen.' She smiled at him. 'Eileen O'Neill.' She gestured. 'And this here is my grandson Jonathan although we call him Jack.'

The shock almost had Cam banging his head on the bonnet as he craned for a closer look at the boy who would one day lead SG1.

_**4. 1969**_

He was on his way into a diner in Washington DC when he helped a woman his own age struggling with a pram and a toddler. He joined her for coffee and pie.

'These are my daughter's children.' Jessie Sullivan said with a smile that reminded him of someone but he couldn't quite place it. 'Her husband's leaving for 'Nam and they wanted some private time. Do you have grandkids yourself?'

Cam shook his head. He'd rarely taken solace in a woman's arms. It had been a lonely existence.

The next day he stayed in his car when the vivid painted bus he had been impatiently waiting for, pulled up on the other side of the road. SG1 scrambled out. Relief flooded him: it was proof that the future really had been fixed.

Jack leaned over to whisper something to Sam that made her smile, and Cam suddenly knew why Jessie's had seemed so familiar.

_**5. 1970**_

He was old: it was time to stop running and he'd chosen his old hometown craving familiarity again.

The day of his actual birth, seventy-eight year old Cam collapsed. As they carried him through the emergency room, he caught a glimpse of his mother being ushered into a wheelchair, her hand on her rounded belly.

He considered predestination and that his Grandmother had been right. He'd been exactly where he was meant to be all along and now God was showing him the way home.

_Have faith_.

'I do, Grandma.' Cam whispered. He took a final breath.

Up on the maternity floor, a cry broke the silence and Cameron Mitchell opened his newborn eyes.


	9. Baggage

**Author's Note:** SG1/SGA, Sam, gen or shippy if you want to see it. Set during SGA's S4 'Reunion.'

**Baggage**

**Prompt 78.02: Five Things a Member of SG1 hid in Sam's luggage when she went to Atlantis**

_1._

Sam finally gets Rodney to leave and is considering whether she should be concerned about Ronon's visit when she finds the first present. It's hard to miss, wrapped in neon pink shiny paper. She is already grinning when she reads the accompanying equally outrageous pink card.

'This was all Cassie's idea. With hugs and kisses, Vala xx.'

Perhaps she tears into the package a little too eagerly. The teddy bear is bright pink with stitching across its white belly that tells the world 'I can kick your ass.' Sam laughs. She wishes she'd had the bear on display during the confrontation with Ronon.

_2._

She makes her way back to her quarters with John's plea to go after Elizabeth echoing in her head. She remembers all too well the agonising torture of not knowing the fate of a team-mate left behind.

Her quarters are in semi-darkness and she looks at the unpacked boxes with a sigh. Her eyes catch on a flash of brown paper and she plucks out the second gift.

'Thought you might find this useful, love Daniel.'

It's his Ancient-English journal; the one he wrote when he came back from Ascension the first time. She hugs the journal to her. Daniel always found his way home and she has to believe Elizabeth will do the same one day.

_3._

The rumours that Ronon is thinking of leaving are all over the City and Sam can't shake the feeling she's to blame. She uses her lunch hour to continue unpacking and tries hard not to feel like she's hiding in her room.

Which she is.

She discovers Cameron's present tucked into a case. It's well-wrapped with the note taped to one side.

'Hope being the newbie doesn't suck as much as this gift! Cameron.'

Sam feels warmed by his empathy; Cam knows only too well how difficult being the newbie can be. She unwinds the bubble-wrap and smirks at the jar of lemon preserves.

_4._

Her second talk with Ronon has left her with enough frustration to power the City. She feels like hitting something. Her gym clothes are still packed and Sam pulls them out, stopping when she sees the gold wrapped oblong with its pretty silver ribbons.

'A candle to help you when you need to find peace. Teal'c.'

The candle is as gold and silver as its wrapping with intricate lettering covering the surface. It takes her a moment to realise it spells out the words 'my sister' and a moment more to blink back her tears and quell the surge of homesickness.

Sam lights the candle and watches its flame. She mis-stepped with Ronon; he has to choose his own path and she won't stand in his way.

_5._

She's unpacking photos in her office and worrying how the mission with Ronon's Satedan friends is going when she finds Jack's present. The card is short and sweet. 'Always, Jack.'

The small bottle of bubbles is unexpected but she knows it wasn't random, remembering how she had confided in Jack as she sat beside him on their first fishing trip. She had confessed all about the time she'd been stranded on the Prometheus; about hallucinating SG1, the tangled conversations and the child blowing bubbles.

She knows he intended the bubbles as a reminder that her team are with her in spirit; that Jack believes in her; that she can save herself and her people no matter what the odds. As though the universe has heard her, the gate activates and Ronon hurtles into her office with news that the others have been captured by the Wraith.

It's late when they return from the rescue but all her people are home, Ronon included.

Sam retrieves the bottle and heads out onto the balcony. She stares for a moment at the brilliance of Atlantis lit up against the night sky. She shakes the bottle and gently blows a stream of bubbles that float away. Her things are all unpacked; maybe she'll create a place for herself in Atlantis after all.


	10. Fathers & Brothers

**Author's Note:** SG1, Daniel, gen.

**Fathers & Brothers**

**Prompt 79.01: Five men Daniel has loved**

_**1. Melburn Jackson**_

Daniel remembers his father in snatches of memories that make a mosaic of the whole; the scent of a certain aftershave, ink and dust; the feel of calluses when his small hand slid against his father's fingers; the deep sound of his father's voice telling him stories of Ancient Egypt to lull him to sleep.

He remembers the card he had drawn when he was five for his father's birthday; the care and attention given to each letter formed to spell out simply; 'I love you, Daddy.'

Daniel leaves the debriefing about the virtual game and heads to his office. He picks up one of his father's journals and opens it to touch the creased card; the words of love that his father had long ago saved and tucked within the worn pages.

_**2. Nicholas Ballard**_

The sanatorium sends Nick's things a few weeks after his Grandfather takes up residence with the Giant Aliens. Daniel is recovering from appendix surgery, the rest of his team are hopefully somewhere off-world waiting for the Earth gate to be fixed rather than at the bottom of the ocean, and he's grumpy.

One box takes Daniel by surprise. It's filled with news of him; articles he published, announcements of his lectures, reviews of his work. Each one lovingly captured in protective plastic with notations on dates, locations or journals scrawled in Nick's loose hand-writing on labels.

Nick had told him he was proud of him but somehow the box is proof that Daniel treasures.

_**3. Jack O'Neill**_

He's never really sure when he started to love Jack but then Daniel's never really sure when they slipped into the bond they share that somehow transcends even the closeness of SG1. There are still times in the heat of temper when he wonders that they are friends.

Daniel looks across the cargo bay where Jack is working on the rings, making them into something only he knows. Daniel's all too aware that even if their efforts save Earth, Jack may not survive with the Ancient knowledge in his mind. His chest is tight with the agony of the potential loss ahead of him. He has no idea how Jack found the strength to let him Ascend; Daniel can't face losing him.

'Jack.' Daniel pauses, unsure what to say; how to say it. He's supposed to be gifted with words and yet he can't find any.

Jack lifts his head and his eyes meet Daniel's and suddenly, Daniel knows he doesn't need to say anything at all.

_**4. Teal'c** _

He should hate him. And Daniel did for a while before time found him understanding the Jaffa more and their team bond eroded the hurt that was left. Maybe hate surfaced again briefly when Teal'c fired the shot that killed Sha're but it didn't last as long as the hate Daniel felt for himself for never saving her.

They've had years of friendship and camaraderie but Daniel's still surprised at the strength of his love for Teal'c as he promises the broken Jaffa, worn by so many defeats in the relentless game, that he's real; that he's there to help him, to fight beside him; that they'll win the game.

Teal'c's hand grips tightly as he clasps Daniel's forearm and Daniel responds by clasping Teal'c's with equal force. They're in it together to the end.

_**5. General Hammond**_

Daniel hated losing Hammond's presence at the SGC. There was something just so reassuring about having Hammond at the helm and something so unsettling when he was no longer there. Daniel has never gotten used to seeing someone else in Hammond's place; not Weir, not Landry, not even Jack.

He tries to recall as he stands beside Sam at the funeral whether he had ever told General Hammond just how much he had admired him; how much his leadership had shaped Daniel in ways that he hadn't even realised; how much he had appreciated the paternal love and care the General had lavished on SG1; how much he missed him.

As the shots are fired and the fly-by screams overhead, Daniel misses him again and silently wishes him Godspeed with quiet love.


	11. Falling in Love With Carter

**Author's Note:** SG1, Jack, Sam/Jack

**Falling in Love With Carter**

**Prompt 80.03: Five Ways Jack Is Subtle**

**_1. Watching her six  
_**  
OK, so he's not always subtle.

Hey, he's a guy. He has eyes. And Carter's not exactly hard to look at on a bad day _– and he pushes away the memory of seeing Carter lying on a floor almost dead_.

But revealing alien dresses and sweet tank tops aside, Jack can be subtle.

Like right at that moment.

She's briefing Hammond on some Tok'ra thing and her attention is on the star-map. Jack is positioned strategically behind her. His eyes drift downward momentarily to her ass. The BDU is fairly shapeless but she isn't and there's enough of a hint to conjure up images of what's beneath.

Oh, yeah. He's definitely a guy.

She looks behind her and Jack quickly averts his gaze. He figures if Carter caught him staring at her ass, she would so kick his.

_**2. Hearing her babble**  
_  
Carter is hot when she techno-babbles.

Really hot.

It's the way she lights up; hands gesturing, body in motion, agile mouth forming all those complicated multi-syllabic words in between flashes of brilliant smiles, and her eyes become this molten electric blue that spark every time they meet his.

Did he mention _hot_?

Jack knows he's safe because he cuts her off enough in the field for her not to catch on. He asks another question about the wormhole to get her going again and she even picks up an apple to demonstrate. He simply stands back and enjoys the show.

_**3. Holding her close**  
_  
Jack doesn't get a lot of excuses to hug Carter – keeping warm and Daniel dying are really the only ones readily available to him as her CO.

But never let it be said he lets an opportunity go by. Carter's confused from being hit with Hathor's hand beam thingy and he's cold after a second round of freezer treatment.

He holds her tightly. He can smell her; feel her; touch her.

And, God, he needs _this_, needs her.

It takes him a moment to realise she's holding him back just as tightly. And suddenly the thought occurs to him that maybe he's not the only one who needs the hug.

**_4. Confessing her importance_**

He has only just admitted the whole truth of it to himself in a kind of abstract, possibly, maybe he feels feelings kind of way.

He planned on telling Carter _never_. She has a great future ahead of her: one that he very much doubts involves her hooking up with an old beat-up flyboy with more baggage than she should have to deal with.

He certainly never expected to tell her by refusing to leave her.

Jack stands with a blue force-shield between them, imminent death marching around the corner, and he's telling her he loves her without saying a word.

And maybe it's subtle but he knows she gets the message because he can see quite clearly, and with no small amount of shock, that she loves him back.

**_5. Tasting her lips_**

Jack likes to think he's subtle in how he finally gets to kiss Carter without alternate universes or alien viruses having something to do with it.

OK, so the yellow sweater is not subtle.

Neither is the resignation.

Making his move in front of General Hammond is probably the very definition of _unsubtle_.

Yet Jack does it with the knowledge of the time loop; in knowing he can kiss her without consequences for either of them.

When his lips meet hers and – oh God, she's kissing him back and he can taste Carter with the merest hint of Jello – Jack really doesn't care whether it's subtle or not.

Stocking little blue Jello pots in his refrigerator just so he can remember _that_ kiss though: that's subtle even for Jack.


	12. It's Not A Competition

**Author's Note:** SG1/SGA, Team, gen, spoilers for SGA S5

**It's Not A Competition**

**Prompt 85.01: Five ****Missions SG1 and SGA1 Went On Together (and How Much Trouble they got in)**

_**1. Leading by example**_

The annual return visit to P3-595, one of the first planets ever visited by the SGC, is always a celebration, and the Atlantis flagship team is honoured to be invited to attend along with SG1 since Atlantis is parked on Earth and their Stargate is taking precedence.

Nobody tells John Sheppard about the fruit punch and Cameron Mitchell's excuse, that he wanted to see if it would have the same effect on him as it did Sam Carter, seems lame in the morning light which finds them both naked and handcuffed to a bed, apparently restrained for their own good.

Both leaders pledge never to speak of the incident and especially of how they'd woken up cuddled together.

_**2. Girl power**_

P8Y765 doesn't seem too hostile until they run into the tribe of Amazons. The statuesque ladies quickly take the boys hostage leaving Teyla and Vala to fight for their return.

Teyla eyes Vala's pink hair-clip and clearly false smile of bravado with concern but she stands back to back with her and determines to protect the other woman as much as possible.

Her concerns prove unwarranted as the former Goa'uld host acquits herself well in the fight and together they defeat their opponents. They are invited to join the Amazons but settle for the release of the boys.

When the boys seem less than eager to be rescued, Vala remarks that if they want to be tied up so badly she's happy to oblige them and Teyla tartly offers to help her. Wisely, the boys are silent on the way back to the Stargate.

_**3. Intellectual debates**_

Attending an academic conference on the pretence of finding a Lucien Alliance spy has Rodney McKay unusually happy until he discovers Daniel Jackson is going along too. Apparently facing imminent death together in the Pegasus galaxy hasn't lessened their innate sense of rivalry.

The mission goes inevitably pear-shaped when the spy overhears them debating over who actually saved the day in the Pegasus galaxy, and the two men find themselves locked in a room with a ticking bomb. Apparently facing imminent death again is cause for a brief cessation of snarkiness while they work out how to save themselves and take down the spy.

Still, when the dust settles, nobody is truly surprised that Rod and Danny are found arguing again, nor that the captured spy begs to be removed from their presence.

_**4. Brotherhood**_

When Bra'tac mysteriously disappears on P9R012, Teal'c invites Ronon to assist with the tracking. The two warriors work well together, quickly determining that the old Jaffa has been abducted by a group of men, likely Lucien Alliance.

Teal'c swears he will kill them all if Bra'tac has been harmed in any way. Ronon really doesn't have a problem with that.

They make up the ground between them and the enemy. As they burst into the enemy camp, they find Bra'tac calmly sitting at the fire with his abductors rendered unconscious and tied to a nearby tree. The old warrior admonishes them for being late before he concedes they have performed well.

_**5. Team events**_

Sam welcomes the teams aboard the General Hammond noting she wishes it were under different circumstances; a mission to eliminate the presence of a Wraith cruiser in the Milky Way galaxy, possibly dropped off by the uber-Hive that attacked Earth, isn't what was originally planned for the shake-down cruise of the new F304.

She watches both teams with a warm sense of pride as they head out to save the day. They are beamed back from the Wraith cruiser just before it explodes; they are bloodied and bruised but the galaxy is safe again, and each team is claiming more kills than the other.

Sam sends them off to the infirmary with a nostalgic twinge of jealousy and reports back to Jack O'Neill. She briskly informs him of the success but he knows her too well and his brown gaze rakes hers across the light-years of space between them.

'Miss being part of the team, Carter?' He asks bluntly.

She shoots him a look.

Jack smirks at her knowingly. 'Yeah, me too.'

She's smiling as the screen goes blank.


	13. Falling in Love With Jack

**Author's Note:** SG1, Sam, Sam/Jack, Counterpoint to Falling in Love with Carter (Ch.11)

**Falling in Love With Jack**

**Prompt 87.03: Five Things Sam Wishes She Was Better At**

**_1. Enjoying him_  
**  
Sam knows she shouldn't find her new CO so funny. But ever since the Colonel made fun of Samuels in the first briefing they shared, he's made her smile.

It's not really appropriate though and she bites her lips and ducks her head to hide her smothered smirk when he tells the General he prides himself on his deducting skills. She wishes she was better at hiding her amusement when the Colonel catches her anyway.

She shakes her inner musings away with a wry thought that maybe it doesn't really matter if he knows he makes her smile. After all, just because he knows she finds him funny doesn't mean he thinks she's going to jump him in the locker room.

**_2. Comforting him_  
**  
She's tried so hard but Sam acknowledges as she snuggles into Jack that she's failed to get them both home.

The planet is nothing but snow and ice. She's tried everything she knows to fix the DHD but it won't work and she's out of ideas, out of options.

When he calls her Sara, something twists inside her; a longing that she shouldn't have to be someone she can never be.

And Sam wishes she was better at pretending as she whispers comfort to Jack before breaking and telling him it was an honour to serve with him too. She closes her eyes and waits for death to steal their last breath.

**_3. Holding him_  
**  
Cassie's visit helps a little in the wake of Jolinar's possession of Sam but mostly Sam just remembers seeing the fear in Cassie's eyes when the young girl realised she wasn't Sam anymore.

Sam doesn't _feel_ like Sam anymore.

Only the Colonel is with her when Sam starts to sob so hard her whole body shakes. She wishes she was better at suppressing her tears but she's just grateful when he simply bundles her and all her bedding into his arms and holds her through the storm.

She breathes him in; the familiar scent and touch of him steadying her as her tears subside and she thinks maybe it doesn't matter if he knows she cried. After all, he more than anyone knows being broken doesn't have to last forever.

**_4. Missing him_  
**  
She's tried so hard but Sam acknowledges as she turns away from the sight of Jack holding another woman that she's failed to stop herself falling in love with her CO.

She's rewritten the book on particle physics to bring him home, realising too late that what she truly wanted all along was _him_.

When he calls her Carter, her heart breaks; a longing for a love she's denied for so long and can never have.

And Sam wishes she was better at handling the truth of her feelings for Jack as she absently responds to his orders as expected and falls in beside him on the way back to the Stargate. Now her eyes are open she can only hope she can get over him quickly.

**_5. Loving him_  
**  
Sam can't look away as his eyes hold hers and he tells her that he would rather die than lose her; that he cares about her more than he should.

Everything he has said and everything she will say is inappropriate. When it's her turn to face the za'tarc machine again, she still doesn't look away. She wishes she was better at telling him that she loves him without actually saying it.

She thinks he gets the message though when Sam admits she would rather he live than die for her; that she cares about him more than she should. His eyes darken to bitter chocolate because it changes nothing. After all, just because he knows she loves him and she knows he loves her back, it doesn't mean that their confessions will ever leave the room.


	14. Final Curtain

**Author's Note:** SG1, Teal'c, multiple pairings. In hindsight, when I was writing parts of this fic seemed very familiar, enough that I wondered if I had read something similar before and 'unintentionally borrowed' but couldn't find anything in my reading that matched at all. So, if there is a fic out there which is the same, any similarity is purely coincidental.

**Final Curtain**

**Prompt 87.02. Five secrets Teal'c took to his grave**

_**1. How many innocents he had killed**  
_  
Teal'c cannot remember all the faces of those he killed – some he does not know, could never know, but he remembers the numbers.

Teal'c had once told Tomin that they would never forgive themselves for the atrocities they had committed. They would fight for innocents and gain forgiveness from those they had wronged, yes; redemption, no.

He knows this as he feels his life seep from his body breath by breath.

He counts each one as he creeps towards death.

_**2. How close he had come to ignoring O'Neill**  
_  
He had been going to kill them all.

As intrigued as he was by their technology, so unlike the Goa'uld and yet so advanced. As much as he admired the spark of independence that they had shown.

He had still been going to kill them.

Teal'c really does not know what changed within him when O'Neill had begged. Perhaps because his old friend had not begged for just his own life but for all those in the cell. So different from the Goa'uld who sought only to destroy.

_'I can save these people!'_

Teal'c had known that O'Neill could not but he had also known that _he_ could save O'Neill and the others.

Teal'c knows he can no longer save himself.

_**3. How he had promised Sha're he would kill her**  
_  
It had been a rare moment alone with the pregnant Sha're. They had regarded each other with identical guarded expressions.

'Do not hesitate.' Sha're had said suddenly. 'If the demon threatens my Daniel in any way; promise me you won't hesitate to kill me, Teal'c.' Her eyes blazed at him. 'You owe me this much!'

He had owed her so much more. A year later, he had kept his promise.

Teal'c regards Daniel Jackson as his brother but he has never told him and never will.

As Daniel finds him and clutches his hand, he makes Teal'c promise to hold on; to live...Teal'c cannot bring himself to tell Daniel that it is a promise he will not keep.

_**4. How much he had loved Samantha Carter**  
_  
Her heart and spirit had belonged to O'Neill.

Teal'c had known that from the beginning perhaps before they themselves had realised the feelings that bound them to each other.

But he had loved her.

Not just as a friend. Not just as a sister. But, as he had once heard O'Neill confess, more than he should.

He could never have hurt her or O'Neill, or his own Ishta, in pursuing something more, not even when they had been trapped in a time bubble and so many years had passed. He had always been content to be no more than her cherished friend. It had been no sacrifice to save her.

It still isn't.

Teal'c wishes he had the breath left to tell her as her tears wash over his face.

_**5. How he fears Apophis really is a God waiting for him in the afterlife**  
_  
Teal'c is certain Apophis is a dead False God.

But there is a tiny, infinitesimal grain of doubt. Intellectually, he knows it's just too many years of being ruled by the Goa'uld that has planted such a seed but as his body gives up the fight, Teal'c feels his fear rise up to choke him.

His life flickers out and the world recedes into nothing but light.

And Teal'c knows he is wrong.

For there is nothing but love that surrounds him and, finally, there is redemption at last.


	15. Cultural Gaps

**Author's Note:** SG1, Teal'c, gen

**Cultural Gaps**

**Prompt 82.01: ****Five Things about Jaffa culture that Teal'c will never tell his team-mates**

**_1. Vengeance is Jaffa_**

They know the Jaffa seek vengeance when wronged but they do not _understand_ what it truly means and Teal'c will never explain how it is about more than simply restoring honour or obtaining justice.

It is about seeing nothing but your enemy; tasting violence; staining hands with their blood; hearing them beg for mercy, and feeling nothing but hate until the light extinguishes in their eyes.

It is about exacting execution with no remorse, no hesitation, no sense of wrong-doing in the kill.

It is doing everything his team-mates fight to overcome.

It is about being everything his team-mates fear.

**_2. Being sholva means more than being a traitor_**

It does mean traitor.

He doesn't lie when Daniel Jackson asks him if the translation is right but words have many meanings and many layers.

Sholva marks Teal'c of Chulak as dead to all Jaffa. A living ghost who will never achieve the glory of afterlife promised by the Goa'uld.

Teal'c had long believed he would never achieve any kind of peace in his afterlife; he had committed too many sins but the word never fails to sting, and he could never bear his team-mates to know and see pity for him in their faces.

At Dakara, Teal'c hears himself reborn as Teal'c of the Tau'ri and considers that perhaps it is right that his other self is considered dead.

**_3. Jaffa cherish their children because they are so few_**

The Jaffa life is extended by the Goa'uld larva but just as the presence of a symbiote endangers the life of the unborn child in a pregnant host so too does a Goa'uld larva endanger the life of an unborn child in a pregnant Jaffa. Miscarriages are common. For a Jaffa woman to bear just one child is a gift.

The Goa'uld never sought to correct the problem. If more Jaffa were required they could be created from the human slaves.

It is forbidden to speak of such matters even within the Jaffa community; an unwillingness to face the truth that the Jaffa may be a dying race.

Teal'c sometimes considers if the need to keep their women pregnant isn't at the heart of the Jaffa distaste for women in battle and wonders if tretonin, or Ishta's leadership will change anything.

**_4. Brotherhood is about more than bonds_**

Teal'c considers O'Neill, Daniel Jackson as brothers; Samantha Carter as a sister. He believes they think it's a sign of his affection, recognition of the bonds they all share; that SG1 is a family.

It is more than that.

To consider someone as such as a Jaffa is to swear a fealty to them; in this life and the next. He would die for them; bleed for them.

His life is theirs.

He never explains it to them but he shows them every day in every deed.

**_5. How completely the Goa'uld define them_**

His team-mates know the Jaffa are slaves. But they do not know how fully the Goa'uld have determined Jaffa culture. Teal'c knows he wasn't truly aware of it himself until he set out on to free his people. His eyes were opened then to the truth.

The branding on their foreheads was no more than placing a mark of ownership upon their skin; it was not a mark of tribal affiliation.

The sacred ritual of primta was no more than placing a yoke upon their shoulders; it was not a blessing of long life and health.

The honour in dying in battle a false Goa'uld promise of glory to encourage the Jaffa to give their lives; it was not a sacrifice for a worthy God.

So much of their culture is mired in Goa'uld lies. Even when they claim their freedom, Teal'c is left questioning what of their culture is truly Jaffa.


	16. A Traditional Valentine's Day

**Author's Note:** SG1, Teal'c, Teal'c/Ishta

******A Traditional Valentine's Day**

**Prompt 90.03: ****Five People Teal'c Sent Valentines cards to**

**_1. A beloved sister_  
**  
It was just after Jolinar and they had all searched for a way to comfort Samantha Carter. It had been Teal'c's idea to send a Valentine – not completely understanding the holiday but certain that it was meant to be an expression of caring. O'Neill had bought the card and Daniel Jackson had written it. Teal'c had been in charge of delivering it.

They had all witnessed her smile as she had opened the card and they accepted her thank you hugs with pleasure at seeing her almost her old self.

It is a tradition that has continued despite both O'Neill and Samantha Carter moving on from SG1. As Teal'c sets the card down in her quarters aboard the Hammond, he knows she has always understood the message: _we love you._

**_2. An honoured friend_  
**  
He had witnessed Janet Fraiser seeing Samantha Carter's first card and overheard her laughing retort to her friend that no-one ever sent her a Valentine. Teal'c sought to correct that the following year especially in the wake of the diminutive doctor saving his life.

He had bought the card himself and sneaked it into her office at the SGC. He had conspired to be close-by when she found it. He had been pleased by her surprised and delighted reaction.

It had become another tradition. After Janet Fraiser's death Teal'c had resolved to continue it with her successors as a way of honouring her. As Carolyn Lam opens her latest Valentine, Teal'c sees the delight in her eyes as she reads: _you are valued._

**_3. A surrogate daughter_  
**  
Cassandra had seen Janet Fraiser's Valentine and complained at receiving none herself. Earth holidays and traditions still confused her and while her tearful suggestion that no-one loved her was quickly handled by her mother, Teal'c had not been able to bear the disappointment in the young girl's eyes.

His was one of three that appeared for Cassandra on February 15th that year. Teal'c was certain that he knew who sent the other two but he never discussed the matter with Daniel Jackson nor O'Neill.

It seemed another tradition had begun; and Cassandra's three Valentines are always delivered the day after the official holiday. Teal'c carefully places his in the mail and knows she will adore the funny cartoon alien and the simple words he has always included: _you are not alone._

**_4. A cherished team-mate_  
**  
Vala Mal Doran embraced her first experience of the Earth holiday with a glee that disturbed Teal'c as much as it amused him. In the days leading up to the event, she declared on several occasions that she was certain that she would get several Valentines from many admirers.

Teal'c was not as certain and he believed deep down neither was she. Vala Mal Doran hid her insecurity behind a wall of brash audacity but it seemed to him that she felt very much as Cassandra had once done; uncertain that she was loved.

Perhaps it had been that thought more than affection that had motivated the first card, bought and left her in quarters at the SGC, but a couple of years, and many missions together later that is no longer the case.

He sets the card beside her jewellery box. He knows she will know it is from him and understand the sentiment behind his gesture: _you belong._

**_5. A lover_  
**  
Ishta had been visiting him on Earth the week before Valentine's Day and had watched him organise his four Valentines with interest. He had explained the holiday and the traditions behind each card. She had teased him lightly that he had never sent her a Valentine. It had never occurred to him. They were Jaffa not Tau'ri.

He steps through the wormhole to Hak'tyl and makes his way to Ishta's dwelling still uncertain that his decision to introduce Valentine's Day into Jaffa culture is a wise one.

She greets him with a kiss and Teal'c pulls back to reach into the small pack he carries. He hands her the card and single red rose solemnly.

Later, he considers that he has a new tradition to add to the others as she lies sprawled beside him, her head on his broad shoulder. He strokes a hand idly over her naked back and Ishta whispers his words back to him: _my love._


	17. Forks in the Battlefield

**Author's Note:** SG1, Janet, squint and you miss it Daniel/Janet, Sam Jack

******Forks in the Battlefield**

**Prompt 122.2: ****Five Ways ****Janet Fraiser Didn't Die**

**Forks in the Battlefield**

1.

Janet blinks up at the sky. It's so grey and dark. Why is it dark?

She can hear Daniel screaming for a medic and thinks that she should get up and help but she can't seem to move.

She feels them gather around her, ripping the vest away, stemming the bleeding, saving her life.

'Don't die on me here, Janet!' Daniel's face fills her vision. 'Don't you dare die on me!'

Janet really doesn't have the breath to reply.

2.

There's a bright flash of light in her peripheral vision and suddenly she gets knocked sideways. Daniel stares down at her.

'Daniel?' Janet asks, winded and sore from being forced to the ground.

'I've got him!' Bosworth shouts from the ridge.

Daniel shifts backwards and looks grimly down at the smashed camcorder. Wells is pale and babbling beside them.

'That was close.' Janet remarks briskly. 'Thanks.'

Daniel nods and pulls her up. Janet focuses on getting her patient home.

3.

Janet's attention is all on Wells' injuries; he's bad but if she can get him to the SGC, he'll make it.

There's a lot of commotion on the battlefield.

'Janet!' The radio crackles; Sam's voice loud and urgent. 'The Colonel's down! We need you!'

Daniel touches her hand. 'Go. I've got this. Get him on a gurney and get him home, right?'

Janet's nodding as she moves away. She has another patient to attend to.

4.

They're barely through the Stargate when Janet gets hit. The blast is to her left leg; painful but not life-threatening.

Frankson goes for Wells with Sam acting as a back-up medic while Kelly takes care of her, Jack and Daniel covering them.

Janet lies on the ground and tries to breathe through the pain. She feels stupid for getting shot. She should have zigged instead of zagged.

'You're OK, Doc.' Jack says, shooting a Jaffa who gets too close. 'We'll get you home.'

5.

Janet is checking they have everything with her team when the elevator grinds to a halt. She paces up and down, helpless to do anything but wait for Siler to get them out.

She knows another medical team will be dispatched and she trusts her staff but she's annoyed on principle anyway. Valuable time could have been lost in getting the second team out to the patient. They could have bled out, gone into deep shock, any number of complications.

She runs for the gate room once she's out anyway; the teams are coming back hot. She's there doing triage when they carry Doctor Brightman through the wormhole. She's been shot; dead at the scene.

Janet doesn't dwell on the loss of her deputy; she'll grieve later. She focuses instead on Wells, on Colonel O'Neill; on the lives she can save.


	18. Rules Are Made to Be Broken

**Author's Note:** SG1, Vala, hints of Daniel/Vala, Spoilers for S9

******Rules (Are Made to be Broken)**

**Prompt 123.5: ****Five Principles Vala Follows (or thinks she does)**

_1. The Mark is The Mark is The Mark_

It's the first, second and last rule of the con; the mark is the mark is the mark.

Vala reminds herself of the rule as she smoothes a hand down her tight black leather outfit and checks her image in the mirror.

Don't think about the mark as a person, as someone with feelings and emotions that will be hurt or humiliated by your actions. Don't think of their history or their future.

Don't think about their kind blue eyes.

She snaps shut the case with the tablet and bracelets. Daniel Jackson is just another mark.

_2. Don't Get Caught_

The problem is that she's not good at being good when she knows the rules never mind when she doesn't. In hindsight, her attempt to pretend to be Sallis was doomed from the start.

She can see Daniel struggling, begging for her to be released. She's fighting to get free but she can't. She finds herself shackled to a bench in the middle of an elaborate structure with liquid fire racing toward her.

Vala's done many, many things but she believes with all her heart that she doesn't deserve a fiery death. She hears Daniel cry out as the fire takes her.

And then she's alive again.

But as the Prior leads her and Daniel away from the village, she can't help but think that they haven't truly escaped.

_3. Don't Give Away Your Secrets_

Vala misses sex.

That's all it is.

That's the only reason why she finds herself in Daniel's bed. Daniel is a man and conveniently attractive. She is a healthy, attractive woman. They can have some fun.

His dispassionate dissection of her psyche cuts her too close to the bone. She's hurt and talking before she thinks, letting slip all the horrifying truth of her past. She stumbles to a halt and is appalled at herself.

Daniel starts to sympathise. She really doesn't think she can take that and, as if he knows, he suddenly changes tack and accuses her of lying.

The relief is almost overwhelming and she lets him think the worst. It's better than him truly knowing who she is.

_4. Never Tell The Truth_

The truth is a fluid thing. Vala believes that wholeheartedly. People will believe what they want to believe; hear what they want to hear. There is no value in telling the truth.

_None._

Daniel thinks otherwise which doesn't explain why Vala gives in to his plea to do the right thing and tells the inhabitants of P8X412 that she's not a God.

Truth is the path to enlightenment. Ha! Truth is the path to prison.

And if the trial wasn't enough to convince her that telling the truth is a Bad Idea, the Prior showing up is.

_5. Only Look Out for Number One_

The answer to the problem of the Supergate is obvious but they're not listening. But then why would they? Sure, they play ball games with her but she's still just a backing singer.

What she should do is ring over to the Jaffa ship, commandeer it and get the hell out of there. But there's a memory of fire licking across her skin; another of the people she had protected as a God forced to prostrate to the Ori; Daniel and his insane attachment for the truth.

So she's saving the galaxy and risking her life and cursing Daniel under her breath because this is All His Fault. She heads to the rings with the vague hope that it isn't too late to save herself too, but then…

She wakes up in a bed. A man is watching her; Tomin. He tells her that he found her, that she's been sent to him by the Ori.

Vala's heart sinks but she shoves thoughts of Daniel and Earth and home out of her head. She smiles at Tomin and remembers the first rule of the con: the mark is the mark is the mark.


	19. And the Winner Is

**Author's Note:** SGA, McKeller (unhappy endings), implied McShep or Gen depending on your goggles. AU. The prompt seemed a little unfair on Jen so this was written with that mind.

******And the Winner Is...**

**Prompt 131.2: ****Five Ways Keller Loses McKay to Sheppard**

**1. Before the Starting Gun**

Jennifer's about to invite Rodney for a drink, a thank-you-for-saving-my-life kind of deal with maybe a bit of flirtation thrown in but before she can, Colonel Sheppard enters – John, she corrects herself; he keeps telling her to call him John.

John apparently has the same plan for Rodney, inviting him for a beer, and although he invites her along, she can see his worry and concern for his friend etched on his face. She declines brightly and heads back to her own quarters. A bubble bath and a cool glass of wine will more than make up for her thwarted plans with Rodney.

**2. The Back Straight**

Jennifer wipes her eyes and turns off the computer monitor. She has to stop playing the video of Rodney telling her he loves her. Whatever Rodney feels for her, whether it is love or merely attraction, he was sick and she has to let it go, no matter how intrigued she has been by the Rodney evoked by the parasite. Jennifer shakes herself briskly and goes to check on her patient.

He's awake and John's with him; they're laughing, heads crowded close together almost touching. _John_. He was the only person Rodney wanted at the end. With a flash of insight Jennifer wonders if they know they love each other. Jennifer's lips twist wryly and she walks away without regret.

**3. On The Bend**

Jennifer catches up with Rodney in the elevator at the SGC. "Hey, Rodney! I'm glad I caught you…"

"You are?" Rodney asks brusquely.

"I just wanted to say sorry again that I couldn't make the physics conference." A family reunion she has to attend has caused her to decline his invitation but she's been hoping he'd ask her out for a long time since she's certain he _likes_ her.

"No problem." Rodney assures her. "John's coming with me."

Jennifer blinks in surprise. "Oh." She hadn't realised Rodney and John were… clearly she's got her signals all wrong about Rodney.

"Not like that…just as friends." Rodney's eyes dart to the camera.

Of course, John's military; they have to be circumspect. Jennifer smiles brightly, letting go of her own momentary disappointment to feel happy for the two men.

"Of course, Rodney." She says brightly.

**4. The Home Straight**

Jennifer's gut warns her that Rodney might be going to propose at the dinner he's invited her to that night. She's suspected he might since they arrived on Earth and Rodney told her she's everything he needs. It's not that she doesn't love him – she does – but it's early days, days where she still wonders if Rodney is right for her, and she's too young to think about settling down.

When she gets to his room, she enters and freezes at the romantic setting, her heart sinking. Rodney clears his throat drawing her attention to him stood beside a small table set with white linen and fine china; a bottle of champagne is chilling.

"I spent all day with John arranging this," Rodney says, "but after he left…I realised I can't marry you, Jennifer." He grimaces rather than smiles. "I seem to be making a habit of not-proposing."

Jennifer smiles tremulously. "I can't marry you either, Rodney."

He pulls her into a tight hug. "Friends?"

"Friends." Jennifer lets go, relief flooding through her.

**5. At the Finish Line**

"How do I know he's the right one?" Jennifer asks Teyla, watching as her friend competently places Torren in his basinet. She's taken advantage of Rodney having a guy's night with John to confide her doubts about her upcoming wedding.

Teyla shoots her a knowing look and straightens. "If you do not believe Rodney is the right one," she pauses, "it is best to determine this now before the bonding."

"Right." Jennifer agrees.

"You should talk with Rodney." Teyla chides gently.

"Right." Jennifer agrees again and takes the subtle hint to leave.

It's not like she's meant to lead Rodney on, Jennifer thinks as she searches for Rodney; she loves him but as their wedding day approaches, she can't help thinking they're not right for each other – not for the long haul. She eventually gives up and retreats to her room only to find Rodney there waiting for her. She knows without his saying a word what he's going to say to her and she smiles grimly. Apparently she's not the only one who's realised they're making a mistake.

fin.


	20. Together We Are Stronger

**Author's Note:** SGA, Teyla.

******Together We Are Stronger**

**Prompt 91.05: ****Five Times Teyla Teams Up With Another Woman to Save the Day**

_1._

Teyla is five years old. Her hand is clasped to her mother's as they make their way through the forest with the other women gathering berries and plants for food. The sun is hot where it breaks through the cool shade.

A pregnant woman stumbles beside them, clutching her rounded stomach with a cry of pain.

Teyla's mother sends her back to the camp to seek help. Teyla runs all the way. Her skin is sticky with sweat and she is out of breath when she finds her father.

By the time they get back, the squalls of a newborn can be heard. Her mother hums a lullaby as she carries an exhausted Teyla in her arms as they walk home.

_2._

She has only been leader for one cycle when the sickness comes. Teyla is scared to her bones that she will not be able to save her people; will not be able to lead them through the crisis. She longs for her father's strength.

Charin, the elder woman who has been a grandmother to her all her life, is her rock. She takes Teyla into the woods to hunt for herbs and bark; a cure that Charin remembers from her own childhood. They make the needed medicine, tending to the sick through a long day and night.

After, Teyla wonders with joy that they have survived; her people live. When she hugs Charin hard, the older woman laughs and offers her some tuttleroot soup.

_3._

There is little food left. The Earth expedition to Atlantis had not expected to offer refuge to the Athosians. Teyla knows of a world which would offer supplies but there is no point taking John Sheppard to meet the Vasel, their Queen is firmly matriarchal, and Teyla finds herself escorting the Atlantis leader, Elizabeth Weir instead.

Her relationship has been strained with Weir since the suspicions of spying for the Wraith and they say little on the way there.

The Vasel Queen is enormously pleased to be granted a meeting with the Atlantis leader; Weir is charming and friendly. They secure the supplies with the Queen only demanding a promise to one day repay what they take.

As they stand beside the DHD, Weir suddenly asks for a moment. She sits, breathing hard and Teyla sees in Weir's eyes the weight of leadership that lies heavy on her own heart at times. Compassion stirs and Teyla believes that perhaps they will become friends after all.

_4._

Teyla is somewhat surprised at her fledgling friendship with Jennifer Keller after their time together with the Bola Kai. But Teyla appreciates Jennifer's kind heart and her support especially with Teyla's people missing and the discovery that she is pregnant.

She stops by the infirmary determined to ensure Jennifer remembers to eat when an unknown illness afflicts one of the off-world teams. There is something familiar about the illness and Teyla drags Jennifer to the mainland to hunt for herbs and bark.

Back on Atlantis, the team survive thanks to the Athosian medicine and when Jennifer asks Teyla of the origins of the cure, Teyla invites her to dinner and tells her of Charin over tuttleroot soup.

_5._

With the rest of her team on vacation, Teyla finds herself requested to temporarily join Major Teldy's team for a mission to MS5P78. The team of three women are still missing a fourth after the unfortunate demise of Captain Alicia Vega.

Things go badly wrong thanks to an unexpected attack by a bear-creature called a Hurath. Teyla kills the beast with the help of Sergeant Mehra but not before Teldy is wounded; a huge gash in her leg that bleeds red over the green grass of the forest floor.

Teyla runs back to the Stargate for help as Mehra protects her team-mates from any other wildlife. Her skin is slick with sweat under the heavy BDU and tactical vest when the medics arrive along with Major Lorne's team. Teyla ignores the discomfort and leads them back to Teldy swiftly.

As they walk to the Stargate to return home, Teyla absently hums an Athosian lullaby, exhaustion rippling through every muscle, and wishes her mother were still alive to carry her the rest of the way.

fin.


	21. It's All in a Name

**Author's Note:** SG1, Teal'c, implied Sam/Jack, mention of past Teal'c/Drey'auc, Teal'c/Ishta

**It's All in a Name**

**Prompt: Five Conversations Murray Had**

_1._

When O'Neill names him 'Murray' Teal'c understands. They think it's a civilian situation; Teal'c is a not an Earth name and Murray is. He can forgive suddenly being renamed and his father's choice discarded.

When he continues to be called Murray in civilian situations, he asks Daniel Jackson the meaning. After a lengthy explanation only some of which Teal'c manages to follow, he understands one thing; that Murray is the name of a Scottish clan of warriors. He decides Murray is an acceptable pseudonym. Except the next time he is called Murray it is at Daniel Jackson's civilian memorial after his team-mate's unexpected Ascension.

O'Neill calls it a waste of time, Samantha Carter looks heartbroken all over again, and Teal'c hates wearing a false name at an event meant to honour the memory of his Ascended friend.

The service is difficult but the wake afterwards worse. He settles at the bar with a club soda. He's brooding enough that he almost gets taken by surprise when a middle-aged woman with greying brown hair and gold-rimmed glasses sits down next to him.

"I'm Helen Mason." She holds out her hand and Teal'c shakes it. "I'm Daniel's foster mother."

"I am aware," Teal'c confirms, "Daniel Jackson often talks of you." He knows the Masons are the one thing that Daniel regretted leaving behind when he went to Abydos. "I am…Murray."

"_They were great. They would have adopted me but Nick never signed off on it."_

"_I didn't want to worry them when my career imploded and when I got back it got harder to just call and say hi."_

But Daniel Jackson had called and Teal'c knows his friend writes, if irregularly, to his foster family, sends them Christmas cards and belated birthday presents.

"You're Murray? Of course you are!" Her face lights up. "He kept calling you T in his letters for a while – he said you had asylum issues that were still being resolved? But then he said someone had nicknamed you Murray and it had stuck so he was going to call you that. And oh, you're just exactly as he described you…"

Teal'c finds it surprising that Daniel Jackson and Helen Mason do not share a blood connection because clearly the ability to talk at length without taking a breath is a family trait.

The bartender slides the glass of wine Helen Mason has ordered across the polished surface before she stops.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Helen says contritely. "Listen to me go on! Well, you've had to listen, haven't you? I didn't really give you a choice about it. It's just Daniel's told me so much about you, Murray, and…"

"All is well, Helen Mason." Teal'c said, calming her by placing his hand over hers on the bar.

She takes a breath and nods. She picks up her wine and slides off the bar stool to head back into the main room where the wake was situated. "He's going to come back you know. He went missing on a dig before in Egypt and they said he was dead…"

Teal'c vaguely recognises the cover story that had explained Daniel Jackson's absence the year he had spent on Abydos.

"…but he came back. He'll come back this time too." She reaches out and pats his hand, with a sweet smile. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Murray."

Teal'c nods respectfully. "And you, Helen Mason."

And suddenly it seems appropriate that he is here as Murray; using the name that Daniel Jackson has evidently used to share his friendship with Teal'c with those he cherishes outside of the SGC. He picks up his club soda and follows Helen Mason into the wake.

_2._

Teal'c enjoys the rare missions they have on Earth. He revels in the opportunity to see more of the world he has chosen to stand with than simply the base and its immediate environs of Colorado Springs. He particularly enjoys how on this occasion, General Hammond has seen fit to send himself and Jonas Quinn alone to find the missing scientist critical to their attempt to clear O'Neill of shooting Senator Kinsey.

They're flying commercial and his fellow team-mate is agog and enthusiastic. The young girl in the seat across the aisle drops her teddy and Teal'c hands it back to the mother with a small bow.

"Thanks!" The mother is harried but she has a warm smile. "It's never easy travelling with kids. They never seem to stop."

"My son was much the same when he was your daughter's age." Teal'c admits, although he and Drey'auc had always had others around them to help since Teal'c had been First Prime.

"I'm Chelsea." She holds out her hand and Teal'c shakes it gently.

"Murray." He replies.

They chat about children and the perils of parenthood – a universal constant – until the flight is over.

As they disembark the plane and make for their hire car, Jonas sidles up to Teal'c. "So, _Murray_…"

"It is a name I use in civilian situations."

"Like Clark Kent, right?" Jonas nods. "I get that. Secret identity." He waggles his eyebrows. "Should I…"

"No." Teal'c states firmly.

Teal'c will one day return to Chulak and Murray will not be required any further. Jonas Quinn will stay and make his home on Earth. Jonas needs to use his own name to do that.

_3._

Cassandra Fraiser has always unofficially belonged to SG1. Janet Fraiser had loved her, adopted her and raised her; no-one on SG1 would deny that…but Cassandra is also SG1's. She is their reminder that sometimes they do make a difference; that the fight is worth it.

Janet's death has hit all of them hard but unsurprisingly no-one has been hit worse than Cassandra. She's furiously angry with SG1 for not saving her mother; furiously angry with O'Neill for surviving when Janet hasn't; with Samantha Carter for not being in the immediate vicinity to help Janet; with Daniel Jackson for being right there and still not being enough, and with Teal'c…for everything to do with the Goa'uld and the Jaffa that had taken her mother's life.

They've all camped out at Janet's trying to get Cassandra through the worst of her grief. Teal'c thinks they have been failing more than they have been helping. Teal'c sets out to collect her from a local café where she has caught up with her college friends. When she isn't outside waiting, he parks and goes searching for her.

Cassandra is at a table with two other girls, they're laughing and giggly and it takes Teal'c less than a minute to realise they have spiked their tea with something alcoholic. His heart sinks because Cassandra has promised Samantha Carter that she would no longer sneak alcohol and she has broken her promise.

The girl in question squeals and launches herself at Teal'c, hugging him hard before turning back to the redhead and blue-haired girl she's with. "Girls! This is my awesome buddy…"

"Murray," interrupts Teal'c without haste but firmly cutting off Cassandra's indiscretion.

"Murray!" Cassandra beams at him. "Right!"

He takes the girls back to their dorm and Cassandra curls up in the passenger seat as they drive back to the house.

"Murray," Cassandra drawls sleepily, "have you ever wanted to be someone else?"

"I have not." Teal'c says firmly.

Cassandra huffs. "Then, why are you Murray when you're really Teal'c?"

Teal'c has to think about his reply, and surprises himself that he _has_ to think because should not the answer be obvious?

But before he can answer, Cassandra snores and a quick glance confirms that she's asleep. He is left with the unanswered question echoing in his head.

_4._

They call him Teal'c of the Tau'ri.

Teal'c stands in the ruins of Dakara and contemplates the truth that Bra'tac has spoken to him; Teal'c is needed to help rebuild the Jaffa; Teal'c is Jaffa.

Or is he?

He knows too well the tension of being pulled between his team and his culture. And he does miss Chulak; the familiarity of his home planet; the surety of knowing how the Jaffa around him are trained, the way of life that he was raised with.

But he is no longer Teal'c of _Chulak_. Teal'c is beginning to understand that _that_ Teal'c, the First Prime of Apophis, died the day he had saved O'Neill and the others. He's just not certain that Teal'c of the Tau'ri actually exists either. He has tried and failed to live among the Tau'ri as himself. It hadn't been as easy to be Teal'c among the Tau'ri as it was to be Murray.

The thought stays with him all the way back to Earth, through Daniel Jackson once again returning against the odds, through the funeral of Jacob Carter as his ashes are interred at Arlington.

O'Neill immediately absconds with Samantha Carter to Minnesota but Teal'c is content to wait and travel with Daniel Jackson a day later. As a thank you, Daniel Jackson takes Teal'c on a guided tour of Washington, explaining the history and the relevance of the monuments they visit. Teal'c very much enjoys it. It's late when they end up in the Constitution Gardens. Daniel Jackson receives a call, and Teal'c wanders alone to visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

A lone man stands in front of it, older than O'Neill, eyes pinned to a certain section further up from where Teal'c's eyes are drawn to one name: Captain James Murray O'Neill.

Teal'c frowns. O'Neill has told him the story of how he had joined the Air Force to honour his late brother's memory after he had been killed in action. He recalls that Jack O'Neill usually likens his lost older brother to Daniel Jackson, not to Teal'c. But there in the full name of the Jimmy talked about so fondly is the truth that O'Neill also considers Teal'c his brother.

Teal'c is truly touched and honoured. He never asked O'Neill the origin of his name; he should have.

"It's something this Wall, isn't it?" The man beside him says.

"It is." Teal'c solemnly agrees.

"I'm Archie. I come every year. I could have been on this Wall." He nods. "There but for the Grace of God."

"I am Murray." Teal'c says.

"Good to meet you, Murray." Archie holds out his hand and Teal'c automatically shakes it, bowing his head a little in respect. "You got family up on there?" He gestures towards the monument.

Teal'c opens his mouth to say no but his dark eyes catch again on the etched name of O'Neill's much loved brother. He thinks of O'Neill, of SG1.

"Yes." He replies instead.

_5._

Daniel Jackson's return from the Ori is somewhat anti-climactic once they get home. O'Neill, Samantha Carter and Cameron Mitchell transport down to Washington for meetings with the Pentagon over whether the Ori are dead (unknown), the status of the Orici (unknown) and the additional Ori forces that have come through the Supergate (too many). The rest of them return to the SGC.

Teal'c is the one that drives his friend home once all the tests and checks have been done. Daniel Jackson is grateful that the Air Force has not sold his apartment for once. Teal'c calls in the pizza order on the way and as Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran argue about their choice of toppings, he gets out of the car to pick the order up.

The tomato, garlic and basil scent of the small family pizzeria brightens Teal'c's mood completely and he smiles warmly at Giovanni, the wrinkled old man who owns the shop.

"Murray!" Giovanni gestures for him to wait and goes in the back. A second later he emerges with a large pizza box and a smaller one for Daniel Jackson. "I put extra olives on yours just the way you like it, anchovies on Doctor Jackson's, and more toppings then you know what to do with as requested on the last. Guess they found the Doc again? Miss Cassie said he'd gone missing when she stopped by the other week. That boy goes missing more than he stays still." The old man beams at him. "Guess some of us just have a better sense of where our home is, right, Murray?"

Teal'c thinks of all the times he has questioned where his home is, all of the times he has questioned who he is. He remembers the days when he had returned to the Jaffa, the heat of Dakara and the ways he did not fit. He remembers his return and being enfolded back into the heart of his family; of O'Neill's quiet 'you can come home any time.' He thinks of how he is going to leave the warmth of the pizzeria and climb back into the car Samantha Carter helped him buy; how he will drive the familiar route to Daniel Jackson's apartment; how he will tell Daniel Jackson of Rya'c's latest news, and talk of Bra'tac and Ishta to him but also of Cassandra Fraiser, Jonas Quinn and the Masons.

He smiles again softly as he realises Giovanni is waiting for a reply.

"Indeed," Teal'c confirms.

He is home.

And he is happy to be both Teal'c and Murray.


	22. Every Darkness has a Light

**Author's Note:** SG1, Daniel, Daniel/Sha're, implied Daniel/Vala, Daniel/Janet

**Every Darkness Has a Light**

**Prompt: Five Times Daniel Sat Alone in a Dark Room**

_1._

Daniel isn't used to living in a house anymore.

The walls feel too constraining; restrictive. He wanders out of Jack's spare room and back into the main den. He sits down in the dark room, presses himself up against the French windows until the glass is hard against his skin and stares up the night sky.

He longs for the tent he shares on Abydos with Sha're.

Sha're.

Sha're who has been taken by the Goa'uld and who he may never see again. No. He can't think like that. He will get her back. He will find her.

Of course, he has to find some way of convincing everyone to let him back through the Stargate first.

"Daniel?" Jack's voice is low but firm; curious. Somehow Jack has sneaked up behind Daniel without him noticing it. "You OK?"

"Can't sleep."

Jack hums. Daniel lets himself be prodded away from the glass, ushered into his coat and outside to the viewing deck Jack has on his roof. Jack settles into the comfy chair and Daniel slumps to sit beside it with a gratitude he can't quite express.

He doesn't quite know what to make of Jack. Are they friends? Daniel's not sure. He's grateful though that Jack has invited him home; has given him a place to stay; is giving him someone to talk to, lean on.

"The 'scope's calibrated to Abydos." Jack pauses. "I think. Anyway, if you know, if you want to look."

"I don't want to be looking through a telescope." Daniel blurts out unhappily. "They're never going to let me go through the 'gate again, are they?"

Jack sighs. "We'll see, Daniel."

Yeah, that meant no.

Jack poked Daniel's shoulder. "Nobody wanted you going through the first time but it didn't stop you convincing us all you should." He reminded him.

And that was…Daniel could work with that tiny sliver of hope.

_2._

Daniel appreciates having his own office more than he can ever truly express to anyone.

It's his.

His sanctuary.

His place to hide.

And he's hiding right at that moment. The room is dark and he's on the floor in the far corner from the door, his fingers tight around a picture of his wife that Sam had given him after the first mission in the sweet but awkward way she has. He loves Sam for making the effort; it's the only picture he has of Sha're.

It's only been hours since he's last held Sha're again in his arms, scented her hair, tasted her lips.

But the child she had carried had been born and Amaunet had returned taking Sha're away from Daniel again.

He knows he should get up, go and find Sam and Jack and find out what happened in Washington but he can't move.

There's a knock at the door and a moment later, Teal'c is suddenly in the office.

His Jaffa team-mate walks around to where Daniel is sitting and lowers himself gracefully to the floor to sit beside him.

Teal'c doesn't say anything but he doesn't need to; Daniel knows he's offering his support, his companionship – whatever Daniel needs.

Daniel knows that most people don't get why Daniel likes Teal'c (shouldn't he hate the guy who kidnapped his wife and handed her over to be a host?) but Teal'c is as much a victim of the Goa'uld as Sha're. There's also the fact that it's hard to hate someone who has saved your life; who has dedicated his to redeeming his past by helping to save the rest of the universe from the Goa'uld.

He doesn't quite know how to explain this sitting in the dark brooding over whether he'll ever see his wife again; the metaphoric analogy he's making in his head of darkness and lack of light at the end of a tunnel.

But as Teal'c continues to simply sit beside him, Daniel realises he doesn't have to explain; he's not alone in the dark anymore and maybe that's the important thing.

_3._

There's no time to sit in a dark room all alone when Sha're dies. Mostly because Jack and Sam are always around, and Teal'c too once they talk after the first rush of grief is over. The dreaming Sha're sent him through the hand device doesn't dull the pain of losing her but it does mean that Daniel finds he can't quite bring himself to blame Teal'c for taking the shot that killed Sha're and saved Daniel.

It's almost seven months later that it happens – when Jack has stopped inviting him back to his place for pizza and beer; when Sam doesn't hover uncertainly in his office at strange times asking for help on projects he knows she's already on top of; when Teal'c has stopped watching him in case Daniel decides to try and punch him (and Daniel thinks the worst thing is that Teal'c would let Daniel punch him which is one of the reasons why he doesn't do it).

It's not even his office he breaks down in; it's Sam's (because maybe he had known it was coming and he'd tried to stave it off by going and asking for Sam's advice on something he's already on top of).

She's gone for the day and her lab is dark except for the blinking multi-coloured lights on some equipment on the wall opposite. But the green and the red blinks don't stop Daniel for spiralling down and before he knows it, he's crammed into a corner sobbing his heart out.

It's almost surreal when he feels a warm hand on his shoulder and looks up through blurry eyes to find General Hammond looking down at him with a warm compassionate gaze. He squeezes Daniel's shoulder and before Daniel's quite aware of how it's happened, he's hustled off the floor, out of the lab, through the SGC and into the sanctuary of the General's office.

When he comes back to himself, there's a glass of bourbon in his hands and the General sits in the chair next to Daniel rather than behind his desk. He doesn't say anything though; just sits quietly, lending Daniel a comforting presence.

"Does it get any easier?" asks Daniel eventually. Because he knows the General lost his wife and maybe he's the only one who can answer him.

"I'd like to say yes," the General says kindly, "that what everyone tells you is right; that time heals the wound and life moves on. And it is to some degree but…nothing changes the fact that she's gone and you miss her, that there's a part of you missing because she's gone."

It's the most truth anyone has said to him since Sha're died. Daniel nods his head, sips his bourbon and finally lets himself grieve.

_4._

Daniel wanders around the SGC until he finds a room in the infirmary. He crawls into the corner, draws his knees up to his chest and presses his hands into his tired eyes.

A nightmare had woken him.

Or maybe a memory.

He hopes a nightmare because he really doesn't want to think the horror of drug withdrawal is something that's actually happened to him. Daniel's pretty certain he's not the type to take drugs – maybe some weed back in college, and OK, he can see himself accepting strange pipes around a campfire as part of an anthropological sharing of different cultural experiences but hard-core drugs that withdrawal necessitates being restrained to a bed?

That's not him.

At least Daniel doesn't think so.

Except there are so many holes in his memory…

He sighs.

This was the reason why he had wanted his past to stay unknown. Yet after his talk with Sam, he'd wanted to know Doctor Daniel Jackson and so here he was.

The dark of the room comforts him; the medical equipment shadowed and hidden.

"Daniel?" Janet Fraiser's dry voice drifts across from the partially open doorway.

Daniel blushes; Janet's found him curled up in three different infirmary rooms on three different nights so far. She crosses the room and sits down beside him, arranging her skirt and medical coat to cover her legs properly.

"I dreamed I was tied to the bed." Daniel blurts out.

Janet laughs, warm and deep as Daniel groans and drops his head back against the wall. "Oh, really? Is this something you should be sharing with your doctor?"

"I was in withdrawal?" Daniel says hesitantly.

"Sarcophagus withdrawal." Janet nods. "That wasn't pretty." She explains the mission that went wrong in short hand and the aftermath.

"Wow." Daniel says as the memory slowly unfolds in his head, snatches remembered from his dream and more slowly seeping in around the edges. "You know in a strange way, it's kind of comforting to know I screwed up, that I can screw up."

Some of what he's been remembering is kind of intimidating; Daniel Jackson – _he_ – is kind and generous in heart, compassionate and passionate about understanding and tolerance and doing the right thing. It's a lot to live up to.

It's a good thing that he's actually dreamed – _remembered_ – something that suggested he has flaws, although in retrospect he has a feeling that his decision to leave the SGC and SG1, to ascend, was also something of a screw-up.

Janet nods. "Come on; you have a perfectly good bed in your quarters and I have my rounds to do."

He lets her walk him home but as she makes to walk away he stops her remembering something else from his dream – memory. "I think I hurt you?"

Janet shrugs and smiles. "You apologised a long time ago, Daniel. Besides," she takes a step back, "I diagnosed you as crazy one time by mistake and had you locked in a padded room so I think we're even. 'Night!"

Daniel blinks as she disappears from view and shakes his head. She keeps finding him sitting alone in dark rooms like he does that a lot. If he'd been her, he would have diagnosed Daniel as crazy a long time ago.

_5._

One good thing about the Prometheus is that there are a lot of good places to hide, lots of storage rooms and little nooks and crannies that everybody forgets about.

As soon as they've dropped Teal'c at the nearest planet with a working Stargate so he can gather Jaffa intelligence on the debacle with the Supergate, Daniel decides to avoid another awkward conversation with the new shiny leader of SG1, Cameron Mitchell, and hide in a storage room.

It seems to be just be filled with a completely random selection of junk for no apparent reason. He sits in the dark and tries to make heads and tails out of his thoughts.

Vala Mal Doran is gone.

Something – maybe the echo of the bond they had shared for a long while (the bond she had forced upon him) – tells him she's survived the Supergate collapsing back into the Ori galaxy. Vala's a survivor; she'll survive.

Maybe if Daniel tells himself that enough, he'll believe it; forgive himself for dismissing her when she'd tried to talk with him; he feels mean for thinking poorly of her and reminds himself again that he has no right to judge her.

He also feels mean for not forgiving her for ruining his Atlantis trip.

And he mostly feels guilty for blaming Vala for what they'd done together in dragging Earth into a war with an enemy that outmatches them on every level.

The door cracks open and Sam slips inside.

Busted, Daniel thinks. His family know him too well, and of course if anyone was going to find him, Sam would be the one since she designed the ship and there's no nook or cranny she doesn't know about.

Sam looks around the storage closet with something that looks like nostalgia before she pulls up a seat next to him.

"Want to talk?" Sam asks, in the same hesitant awkward way that she had once given him a picture of Sha're.

He's always loved her for being the kind of person who makes the effort anyway even though she isn't the best with people (years of skipped grades during school and being years younger than your classmates takes its toll on social skills and Daniel can relate – he's not entirely certain his own skills wouldn't be atrophied if he hadn't decided to do the anthropology degree and _learned_ how to fit in – and even then he's not always successful when the culture in question is twenty-first century America).

Daniel shakes his head.

Sam slides an arm around one of his and hugs it. "It's not your fault, Daniel."

"It's a tiny bit my fault." Daniel replies after a while.

"If it hadn't been you and Vala using the communication device it would have been someone else." Sam says logically. "And it's not the first time that we've taken on a supposedly unbeatable enemy. We did OK the last time."

Neither of them mentions the losses that they've sustained achieving victory.

"We were SG1 last time." Daniel says after a long silence.

Sam hums. "Maybe we should take Cam up on his offer then."

Daniel doesn't know if it's the fact that she's said 'we' not 'you' or the notion of falling back into the familiarity and safety of SG1 but it has him blinking back tears. He shuffles around so he can hug Sam properly.

Daniel can work with that tiny sliver of hope.


	23. Clearing the Air

**Author's Note:** SG1, Jack, mention of past Jack/Sara

**Clearing the Air**

**Prompt:** **Five Thunderstorms Jack Remembers**

_1._

Thunder splits the air and lightning rockets across the Minnesota sky.

Jack stares up at the sky with an awestruck expression. The air is heavy; thick with the weight of the oncoming storm.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" His Gramps whispers in his ear from their safe place on the porch of the fishing cabin.

The whiffs of tobacco and sour whiskey that Gramps always smells of make Jack's five year old nose wrinkle but his eyes are pinned on the sky above as the heavens open and the rain falls down in a rush that drowns out the sound of everything.

"Never be afraid of storms, Jack, my lad," Grandpa ruffles his hair, "they always clear the air."

_2._

It's not fear of the storm so much that Jack is battling with when his jet gets caught in a doozy over Germany so much as the fear of crashing.

If he had a moment to spare, he was certain that he'd admire the rolling dark clouds, the sharp jagged edges of white lightning and the roar of thunder.

But he doesn't have a moment to spare because his attention is on the spinning instruments, the feel of the stick vibrating in his hand and the plane groaning all around him as his co-pilot shouts course co-ordinates down his ear.

For a second, everything gets away from him and his eyes shoot, not to the storm outside, but to the picture of Sara holding their new born son, Charlie, stuck to the dash with a piece of duct tape. He yanks hard and gets the plane back under him.

He won't let the storm take him down.

_3._

Jack spends eight days by the grave.

He turns up in the morning at the time Charlie came screaming into the world, a bawling red faced baby.

He leaves every evening around the time the doctors in the emergency room had declared Charlie dead.

On the eighth day though there's a thunderstorm. It's been threatening for a while; grey skies, the air heavy with the metallic taste of lightening about to spark. It's seems a fitting tribute to Jack's mood; to his all-consuming grief.

For an hour the heavens are lit up with enough fire to express Jack's rage; enough sound to drown-out the awful echo of that fatal gunshot.

Then the rain comes and for the first time since they'd told him Charlie is gone, Jack cries.

_4._

The sky is already rumbling as Jack pulls up in front of the house. When he'd left, he hadn't expected to see it again.

Suicide mission.

He swallows hard against the lump in his throat at how selfish he's been. The insane mission through the Stargate has squared away his priorities though. He's retired and Sara deserves better but he's hoping, _hoping_ they still have a chance.

Her car isn't in the driveway but it's early and he wasn't expected home any time soon. He grabs his duffle and heads inside. There's a roar of thunder as he enters the house and a bolt of lightning splits the sky open.

_5._

Huddled in what's left of some temple ruins that Daniel was very keen to look at, Jack's first thunderstorm off world is terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure. The sky is filled with purple lightning. The colour spectrum shouldn't surprise him; the sky had been more yellow than blue; the grass not quite brown but not quite orange. Thunder rumbles ominously overhead.

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" The young Captain beside Jack enthuses.

"Uh, wonderful isn't the word I'd use but it's certainly eye-catching?" Daniel says, pushing up his glasses nervously.

"Colourful." Teal'c says with his usual succinctness.

Jack hides his smirk as he watches the storm reflected in Carter's wide-eyed glee, Daniel's hesitant awe, and Teal'c's calm zen.

The past few months of building their team haven't been easy. But they're getting there.

Carter drops her gaze from the sky to grin at him. "How about you, sir? What do you think?"

"Gramps told me never to be afraid of thunderstorms," Jack said firmly, "'since they clear the air."

Another charge of purple lightning arrows through the sky; it hits the ground and leaves behind an impressive crater.

They all stare at it.

"'Course, Gramps never said anything about thunderstorms on another planet." Jack says crisply. "Pack it up, campers. Time to go home."


	24. Anchor

**Author's Note:** SG1, Sam, Jack/Sam

**Anchor**

**Prompt: Five Times Sam Thought About Leaving the Air Force**

_1._

In the time Sam's been in the Air Force, she's gotten used to the Barbie Doll nickname (she cut her hair the next day), the under-breath insults that she's a nerd (like she hadn't put up with that all the way through high school and undergraduate college in classes with kids older than she is), the whispers of favouritism (which sting) and occasional lewd language (her Dad and her Uncle George had both warned her).

But she's not used to the unthinking sexual discrimination that permeates the Air Force; the assumption that because she's female it makes her less somehow. She's had to fight for her right to earn her wings; for flight time; for the respect the rest of the squad gave to each other as men within the first five minutes but she had to wait months to get.

Her latest assignment orders are almost the last straw.

She's a pilot because she wants to fly, wants NASA and space and the adventure of seeing the Earth floating above her. But now she's being shuttled to some bogus science division out in Colorado Springs.

Sam thinks about leaving the Air Force and because she can never confide that in her Dad, she calls her Uncle George who more than anyone has supported her quest to join the Air Force, to follow her dream.

"Take the assignment, Sam." He says. "You won't be disappointed."

And there's the hint of amused knowledge in his Texan twang that makes her think that maybe she's not being shuttled into obscurity after all. She takes the assignment.

_2._

Sam doesn't know how she manages to last through the briefing with General West without punching him. They went through the device – or the _Stargate_ as they're calling it now – and actually travelled to another planet.

Without her.

She's insanely jealous of Doctor Jackson. Furiously mad at Colonel O'Neill (although he didn't even know about her so why would he have picked her to go with him?). But mostly she's pissed off at the Air Force for deciding her brain is too much of an asset to risk on actually using the device that she's spent the last year trying to get to work (and basically building a dialling computer from scratch) but now the danger is over, they want her brain back to determine if the planet (_Abydos_) was the only viable connection.

While the computer runs her latest simulation she glares at the device and wonders if she shouldn't leave the Air Force, apply directly for some position at NASA, get into space that way.

As if he can read her mind she finds a voicemail from her Uncle George waiting for her when she checks for messages; his 'believe me; your time will come' sounds cryptic but Sam lets it dissuade her from leaving again.

_3._

It's not that Sam wants to leave so much as she thinks she should.

Compromised.

It sounds so simple for what was the most horrifying and terrifying experience of Sam's life. She'd had a Goa'uld in her head. Tok'ra, the echo of it whispers insidiously. And maybe it was an important difference; maybe it had been the difference between Sam dying or not. But it still doesn't detract from the fact that her government considers her compromised.

Nobody says anything about the future when they talk to her; not Daniel, not the Colonel (_Jack_, whispers another voice inside of her that wants to pretend that she can call him that without consequence), not Teal'c – well, she never really expects Teal'c to _talk_.

She knows there are discussions; the Colonel leaves her every so often and comes back with an expression more impassive than Teal'c's. It worries her. It's only been a year but she loves the guys – her guys, her team. She doesn't want to leave.

Sam starts at the knock on her door. It's not that late but she's dressed for bed; comfy non-regulation flannel pyjama pants and a UASF blue t-shirt. She answers it anyway since it's more than likely one of her team-mates. General Hammond stands on the other side of the door.

"Sorry to disturb you, Captain." He smiles warmly and for a moment, her Uncle George shines through his official demeanour. He stretches out a hand, offering her something. "Doctor Fraiser has cleared you for light duty starting tomorrow at oh-eight-hundred. I believe you'll be needing these."

She takes the SG1 badge patches with a trembling hand. It's all she can do to stand there and not cry, not hug him to death because she doesn't have to leave. "Thank you, sir."

_4._

"I'll leave." Sam says matter-of-factly.

Jack glowers at her across the tacky table of the diner they've found to take a break on their way to Minnesota. "The hell you will."

"One of us has to leave." Sam points out. Because now that they've dealt with what's actually kept them apart (his fears, her fears), it doesn't change the excuse that they've both used in the past not to deal; the Air Force has regulations. "I can sign on as a civilian."

"So can I." Jack argues.

They both glare at each other before Sam starts giggling at the absurdity of it.

"Maybe we should both leave?" She says, giddily because they're actually doing this, sorting out the details, making plans, talking about _them_.

Jack slides a hand across the table and she slips her hand into his, links their fingers.

"Let me…" Jack pulls his phone out of his jacket pocket, one-handed since he keeps hold of her with the other. He presses a button – obviously a speed dial and waits. "Hey, General Hammond, sir!"

Oh God, Sam thinks and tries not to cringe at the thought of Jack telling her Uncle George about them.

"Great, sir, I've been…really great, but I, uh, need to tell you something and I…" Jack's face changes to one of chagrin as he listens to the man on the other end of the phone and he avoids her gaze. "Jacob told you that, huh?"

Jacob? As in her late father Jacob? The one whose ashes they've just buried in Arlington?

"No, sir, I mean, yes, sir," Jack's eyes suddenly meet hers, "he was right; I'm completely and totally crazy in love with Samantha Carter."

Sam's heart almost stops beating but she can't help the grin that spreads across her face.

Jack closes the phone and puts it on the table. He kisses her hand. "He says nobody is leaving and he'll think of something." His sudden smirk travels all the way to his eyes. "Oh, and your Uncle George will kick my ass if I hurt you."

_5._

The tenth temporary assignment annoys Sam on a level that is hard to explain.

It's not like she doesn't understand that her reassignment from Atlantis at the behest of the IOA was a surprise to the Air Force, it had been a goddamn surprise to her too, and she still can't tolerate the memory of Woolsey telling her she was essentially fired from leading Atlantis (which she later learns from a host of others including Jack was because she was too successful of all things).

And she had understood when they'd said they hadn't planned for her to be around and so there was nothing planned and thus; temporary duty assignments up the wazoo. But that had been months ago and Sam is getting a little tired of temporary even if her current temporary is commanding the SGC while Landry is away on super-secret talks involving moving the Stargate to the new moonbase they're building.

Maybe it's finally time to retire; Jack has been making noises again and maybe they should retire together, go on a road trip with the bikes…forget about aliens and Stargates and get lost with each other for a while, get lost in each other…

Her musing is interrupted by a call scheduled with General Vidrine who still commands Earth's fleet of spacecraft some years after the successful launch of the F302 (Sam refuses to acknowledge the X301 debacle ever happened).

"Colonel Carter," Vidrine smiles, "I wanted to talk with you about the open command position on The Phoenix."

"Of course, sir," Sam says, opening up the folder on her hard drive to find the document where Landry had put down his choices, "if you can wait a moment, I should have General Landry's recommendations for you…"

"Actually, Colonel, I'm not calling for recommendations," Vidrine interrupts her with evident amusement, "I'm calling to offer you the command."

Oh.

Sam's heart seizes in her chest. He's offering her the command of The Phoenix. She'll be going into space; seeing the Earth spin in the endless starry sky on a regular basis from the bridge of a spacecraft that she'll command.

He's offering her the dream of her childhood, the ambition of her youth, and possibly the best move of her adult career since she'd been assigned to SG1, even beating out Atlantis because that was more of a duty than an ambition.

Her online messaging beeps; Jack.

"_Has he asked you yet? Btw, the Phoenix is being renamed; she'll be The General Hammond when you get her."_

And suddenly she can't breathe against the rush of grief that threatens. Uncle George hasn't been gone that long; it's been days since his funeral not weeks. She misses him like crazy.

"…so what do you say?"

Belatedly Sam realises that Vidrine has been talking and she hasn't listened to a word of it but she knows what he's asking. Will she take the command? She thinks of her earlier irritation and semi-formed plans to leave.

But she can hear her Uncle George in her head as clear as crystal…

"_Take the assignment, Sam. You won't be disappointed."_

"Yes." Sam says smiling. "I say yes."


End file.
